Getting Caught Up

These are just a few random pictures from the last week and a half.

Despite the snow every other day, there have been some super sunny days, and we've taken advantage! The great thing about Colorado is all of the parks and walking trails the city / state provides (Who provides them Dad?). Although, we are still having some behavior issues, Matthew is actually playing really well with other kids when we go to the park. Here, he is playing with a day-found friend, James. David is typically along for the ride. He loves the fresh air, and he loves the laughter of all of the other children. And a new found love is . . . SAND. David ends up with sand down his diaper, up his nose, in his mouth, hair, and ears. These are completely out of order, but at least they're posted, right? Matthew loved his Easter treats. His favorite thing were the "tit-si-rolls". And no, I did NOT teach him that!!!
David's little personality is in full bloom! He is still pretty happy even though he is getting his molars in and has a really bad ear infection.
Sometimes I really regret that the Easter bunny started putting candy in baskets. Maybe the Easter bunny can bring one treat next year and more toys.
The last day of Ryan's Spring Break trip, we skied Winter Park. Matthew took an all-day lesson and supposedly did really well on his skis. He did, however, have an issue of following instructions. The instructors said that he would just go down the mountain and not wait for any of the other kids. Imagine??! Ryan took a 1/2 day lesson, and by the end of the day was doing fantastic! He even skied a really steep blue. Way to go, HON!!! I knew you would excel with it! We had a great time!! Thanks Mom and Dad for the WONDERFUL day and memories!!!
This is my sweet cousin, Nicki. She is currently in school here in Denver, studying art, and she paints beautifully!!! And she makes the BEST mini cookies ever!

We had dinner at Aunt Diane's on Saturday, and had a great time. The boys were able to play with some toys, the dirt, and their neighbor's swing set. Everybody really enjoyed themselves. Thanks for the YUMMY food, Diane! Just for the record, your burritos were way better than Costa Vida! I loved them!!
These are my sweet grandparents, Grammy and Pop-pop. They have helped us out so much and been so kind to us. At least once a week, Grammy comes by to play with the boys or take them to her house. When the hot-water heater was broken, they let us come over to their house for hot showers and heat. They also are always bringing over delicious food. Grammy is an outstanding cook--no wonder my mom cooks so well. Although, I didn't get a picture, Pop-pop just had his 76th birthday on Easter Sunday, March 23rd. Happy Birthday, Pop-pop! We love you so much!!
David always loves to be surrounded by the relatives, because it means more attention for him, full of kisses and hugs.
This was supposed to be next to the picture at the top, but I had a few mishaps. Anyway, sweet David loved playing at the park.
Matthew and David accomplished a lot of work while at Diane's. Had we stayed longer, they might have finished their construction projects of moving the dirt onto the lawn and into the rocks. Sorry, Diane and Ed.

They're really into tools right now. David found this rake at the neighbor's and thought he had hit the jackpot.
Of course, Matthew did steal the rake away from time-to-time.
David wasn't really sure what to do with the car, but he liked honking the horn and sitting in the driver's seat.
I miss our family get-togethers. We sit and talk and reminisce about old times. It's so fun!

Dani's Tag

What is your husbands full name: Ryan Todd
How old is he: 28
Who eats more: Depends on the food.
What's the type of food?I LOVE ice cream--even though I'm lactose-intolerant, and I LOVE salad or fruit. Ryan LOVES meat--yuck!
Who asked who out on the first date: Ryan asked me, after having stalked me for a few weeks. Then he stood me up. Good times.
Who said "I love you" first: Ryan, but this is a bit of a debate. I still think that it was me.
Who kissed who first: He leaned down and kissed me while we were watching a movie, I think. Or it might have been at the doors of our dorms. Is that terrible? I can't remember the first kiss. Wow. Maybe he should have filled this out. He remembers things way better than me.
How long did we date: We dated 2 1/2 months before getting engaged.
How long was our engagement? 10 months
Who proposed?: Ryan. He actually dropped the hint a couple of times on my birthday. I didn't get it. Then he talked to me about it when he came up over New Year's in Colorado. Then someone announced it over the pulpit during testimony meeting--even though we were NOT engaged at that point. Then . . . Ryan flew out and surprised me in Denver on July 1st. Something about clowns in there--ask me another time. He took me to a wonderful dinner--no proposal. I was mad. I wanted him to go back to Utah, because he still hadn't given me the ring. Then he took me to a beautiful, favorite place of solitude--Daniel's Park. I thought he was going to hit me with the car--another story to be told another time. Then he danced with me under the stars to our song, "It's Your Love" by Tim McGraw. Then he asked me, and I had to keep him.
Who is taller: Thank goodness, Ryan. 6'3" to 5'5"
Who is smarter: Interesting question--no answer really. Ryan and I compliment each other quite well. Where one lacks, the other picks up. It's the BEST!!
Who cooks dinner: Ryan cooks breakfast and occassional dinners, so I do most of the cooking. I love trying new recipes. A favorite website is allrecipes.com. It's wonderful. Once again, thanks D'Lonna!
Who does the laundry: I put it in the washer and dryer, and then . . . many times I let it sit. I hate laundry with a passion! Ugh!!! So . . . we have laundry-folding parties while watching a movie. Other days, I have this unusual motivation and actually fold it within 24 hours of washing and drying it. Those are AMAZING days!!
Who does the dishes: This one is me. Ryan HATES dishes. Actually, I don't mind them.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed: We have a different system. I make Ryan sleep on the side closest to the door. That way, if an intruder comes, he can protect me. Totally lame, I know, but it's my OCD rule.
Who pays the bills: Ryan is right now. Thanks, Sweetie!
Who is more stubborn: Probably me, but we both are. It depends on the situation.
Who is the bigger clown: Ryan
Who sings better: I really don't know. I don't really sing seriously except for when I'm alone or during sacrament meeting. Otherwise, I'm goofing around. That's mostly when Ryan hears me, so he's probably thinking, what is she talking about saying anything about her voice?? Ryan does sing really well.
Who mows the lawn: We don't have a lawn yet, but we're hoping to get a house by August! Yea!!
Who drives when your together: Ryan. It's a protection thing again.
Who wears the pants in the relationship: We really strive for equality in our marriage. We both state our opinions and speak out about our feelings and promptings. Typically, each person knows when to step up or back down. We understand where each other is coming from after conversing, so that takes down our ego a bit.
Who has more siblings: Ry. He has 5 kids in his family.
What did I leave out: I miss his laughter. Ryan sometimes can get me going to where I actually cackel--this terrible family trait that makes me close my eyes, cry, roll on the ground--literally, and not stop laughing for like 20 minutes. That's actually how my water broke with Matthew--we think. We can sit and talk and laugh about anything, and then we can also sit in silence. I feel so blessed to have him as my spouse. He's a wonderful partner and best friend. I love you, Hon!
I'm tagging: Rach, Angie, Brittany, and April

Food For Thought

One of my favorite quotes comes from You've Got Mail. I know, roll your eyes, Ryan. But honestly, I feel like this quote is so profound. I know that I am not going to get it verbatim, but basically Meg Ryan says, "I live a good but simple life. Do I do it because I want to or do I do it because I wasn't brave?" I used to think that this quote was really profound. I guess I still do, because it really made me think. However, at the same token, who lives a simple life? Heavenly Father loves each of us, and He knows what we need. He gives each of us different growing opportunities when we need them. These challenges provide us with the means to become closer to Him and better people. We each have relationships / friendships. These are by no means simple things. Life is adventurous. You never know what will happen next, but you have faith that things are going to work out. Nephi said he glories in plainness and in truth. I guess it's back to that "catch 22".

The bishop in my parents' ward talked about prayer last week. He talked about how Heavenly Father will grant our righteous desires if we ask for them. He's waiting to bless us. I guess I'm struggling with that and faith. Faith is believing without seeing, but it's also submitting our will to Heavenly Father's will for us. Maybe I'm praying for the wrong things. Maybe I need to just be praying to align my will with Heavenly Father's will. Surely, he knows just what I need and where I need to head into the future. If I do this, then my desires will always be righteous. Please let me know your thoughts. This has been on my mind quite a bit.

A Wonderful Surprise!!

So in case you haven't watched the news lately, I will fill you in. Southwest decided to surpass safety checks to save money. The result: 1) They got caught and fined. 2) The FAA made them ground 100 some flights to do the safety inspections. 3) Flights were therefore canceled. 4) People bought tickets on other airlines. 5) EVERYTHING was overbooked or TRIPLE charged!!!

It was Ryan's spring break, and we were so looking forward to this time together. However, it was nearly impossible to find a flight and the few available were costing upwards of $1200. On top of that, Ryan has had an inner ear infection and the doctor prescribed a very sleepy medication. There was no way that he could drive the gruling 14 hours as a result.

So . . . on Saturday, Matthew and I layed down for a nap before the ward party. All of a sudden I looked up and Ryan's standing over me. I was in shock and hysterics! I wasn't sure if I was actually dreaming or this was really happening! I was SUPER excited to see my hubby! It turns out, when he found out about the flights, he immediately stopped taking the medicine. Then he drove from 5 a.m. until 5 p.m. (Cutting the trip by hours is pretty fast--it's a good thing I wasn't in the car!) after having only 3 hours of sleep the night before. CRAZINESS!!! In a way, I'm really glad that I didn't know because I would have been so worried about him and anxious at the same time! I'm so glad he came!

We have been having such a great time! We had a family dinner on Sunday with my grandparents and our friends, Jared and Natalie and their two children. Then on Monday, we went to lunch at a favorite restaurant, John Holly's, a favorite Denver tradition. We also went shopping and took the boys to a fun toy store. Tuesday we went to the Aquarium and being lame, I completely forgot my camera. The boys LOVED that! I did remember to take my camera for our evening activities. Below are some fun pics!
Ryan sang a couple of songs--surprisingly--for karaokee.
We also played this trivia game. I don't know what it was called, but it was really fun!
Here is the BEST picture of all night. This is who I fell in love with!!!!
Steven and Gabi played too.
Lucimar is a true karaokee star!! She seriously has an amazing voice. And she is a RIOT!!

Once again, another reason why I fell in love with Ryan (Can you actually take a serious picture??). We had dinner at Tres Margaritas with Gabi's parents, Fred and Lucimar, and their friend Thales. We had such a great time! If you want to laugh until you hurt, this is the family to be with! We can't think of more fun people to spend time with! Our only regret was that we couldn't go on a Monday night when the mariachi band was playing, and none of our other family members could come. Maybe next time.
Matthew loves his dad and is so glad that he is here. He actually cried the morning after Ryan arrived, because he thought Ryan had already left when he didn't see him in bed with me (He was already up and getting ready for the day.).
We didn't tell Matthew about Ryan's arrival until after the ward party. He had been sleeping when Ryan arrived, so it worked out perfect. Before we left the party, we told Matthew that we had a BIG surprise waiting for him at home. Matthew kept asking what it was. Then when we arrived home, we had Matthew go pick something out of the pantry to snack on. He opened the doors and out popped Ryan. Matthew was so EXCITED!! And David was too. David kept smiling and squealing. It was really sweet!
It's amazing what little hands can do in a matter of seconds!

New-Made Memories of Colorado

We have had such a fun week! It's so nice that we are feeling better!!! After our party on Friday with kids, my dad and I took Matthew to the ward Easter party. Matthew was really grouchy for the beginning, but when he heard the words, "Easter Egg Hunt", everything turned around, and he was all smiles. :D) The kids were allowed to find five eggs and three pieces of candy. Matthew found way more than that and my dad had to make him give them back. Sometimes, three year olds can be really tough!
More candy--just what we want!
Matthew was so proud of his eggs.

Below, you will see that our son has decided to become a future plummer. A little lower, and all would be revealed! Matthew is completely potty-trained and can go into the bathroom all by himself. Unfortunately, he doesn't always get things right. Often times, his pants are on backwards or inside out. This particular time, he forgot to put his underwear back on. Have no fear, like a plummer, they fit perfectly in the back of his pants like a rag (And just for the record, no, we did not teach him this!)!

David has discovered a new love of turning the t.v. on and off. He especially enjoys it, when we have turned it off and said, "No more t.v." Who knew he would be so mischievious?!!
My mom picked up this camera that shows all of these animal pictures inside. Ours did not look this authentic when we were kids. They had those circular cards--remember? Anyway, he walks around taking pictures of everyone and then shows us our shark picture or turtle picture. He's quite pleased with his photography capabilities!
Steven loves his nephews! He's been coming over a few nights a week since we arrived. He plays with the boys. He likes David a lot because David lets him hold him.
David is such a snuggler. He loves to be held, hugged, and kissed!

Easter Party Playdate

Thanks for a super fun playdate Tracy & Lacey!!! I think all of the kids had a really great time! Unfortunately, each of them got way too much candy from the egg hunt, and we will be paying for that for several days! YIKES!!
Lily was so excited to find each egg, but we could never get her to look at the camera. She was too busy checking out her loot!

David came outside just as we were about finished. He found one egg, but Matthew took it from him. I had to pry it out of Matthew's hands. Poor kid!
Tyler was determined to open all of his eggs and eat everything before we went back inside. It was really funny! Conner just watched.
This is the closest picture we got of all of the kids looking. Unfortunately, I was in the wrong spot.
We colored eggs after the hunt, and Matthew spilled some of the egg-dye all over himself and the floor. So . . . we had to go pantless for a little while.

Okay, these are the cupcakes I made for the party (I tried really hard, Stacey. I wish you had been here to show me the ropes. My cake-decorating is never even close without you!). Ten points to anyone who can guess what the brown cupcakes are supposed to be.

No, they're not dogs or anything obscene (My dad guessed a lot of things.). They're supposed to be bears. The picture looked so cute on wilton.com, but they just didn't come out the same. I'm still learning.